ASLC Council Meeting
August 15, 2024
7:00 p.m. Adix Room
Attendees:
Pastor Hellemo, Mary Rosas, Libby Lindstrom, John Barnes and Donald Sheeler. Bev Byers and
Marc Funderburk joined via Zoom.
Opening Prayer/ Devotion:
Pastor Hellemo led us in the opening prayer. John Barnes led our devotion.
Approval of pervious minutes:
Corrections were made to the June minutes per online discussion. The motion was made by Pastor
to accept the minutes as written for July 2024. Mary seconded. Vote taken and all approved.
Reports:
Ministry Board:
John Barnes reported the following:
Ginya Anderson is continuing with the Sunday Children’s Fellowship. She is working on the
Spaghetti Dinner, Pumpkin Patch and Trunk R Treat events for September and October. Mary Rosas
is working on the Arlington Charities donation drive through the month of August. The mowing
teams are set for every other Friday and the SDA is helping with this. Regarding our Elderly and
Homebound, Aileen Stephenson is not doing well, and we helped Luci Priola with lights and things
around the house. Adult Sunday School will resume in September after the Labor Day holiday. The
Scout Troops will resume meetings in August and the Youth Room Refresh 2.0 is having a workday
on August 31, 2024.
Trustee Boards:
Donald Sheeler reported the following:
SDA has provided certificate of liability insurance via email on August 13, 2024. They are planning
on helping with the changing of the lights in the Sanctuary. Steve Bessler will be helping with the
light changes when we get ready or he will designate someone to be in his place. We have a
congregational member who is funding this process. Property has requested that an ASLC member
be present when they begin this process. Marc is recommending that we have a proposal before we
start the light process. Council agreed and once we get the proposal we will review. We will need to
purchase a new battery for the lawn mower. Still waiting on gutter repair to be scheduled by repair
company. Lee Sprinkler will schedule with Bev to return for inspection. APD came and inspected
the fire extinguishers. The invoice was $45.00 and sent to Bonnie for payment. We are working on
obtaining bids for roof leak repairs in East Wing. ALC has obtained liability insurance. Santisima is
still looking for liability insurance. SDA is cleaning a significant amount of the facility with their
regular cleaning on Saturdays after their usage. We have provided them with a detailed list of what
is expected of them also (it is under issues and opportunities). The Youth Room Remodel is
beginning, and the carpet and glue have been removed. The Browers are taking on the bathroom
repairs. We will need to coordinate their supplies and pick up what is needed from Home Depot. A
floor sander will need to be rented to finish sanding the subfloor prior to putting the carpet squares
down. Ongoing projects include bulb replacement and rewiring of outdoor sign on Kelly Elliott.
John noticed the lights on the Kelly Elliott sign is only working part of the way. Council asked that
we call an electrician to get an estimate on repair. We will need a maintenance agreement with
Douglass Heat & Air for the HVAC but this is on hold. We are continuing to purge the red chairs.
Installation of donated ice machine in the kitchen is on hold. We need to rewire the lights in the
women’s atrium restroom. We need to get estimates for sheetrock repair in the damaged
classrooms in the East Wing, Prayer Room and Sanctuary.
Mary received a request from a new girl scout troop to meet here on Monday’s but this will not work
due to the boy scouts using the facility specified already.
Finance Board:
Mary Rosas and Bev Byers reported the following:
Pledge cards were to be collected physically or emailed to Bev Byers on or before August 11th so
that the finance team may begin budgeting for the 2025 year.
Pastor’s Report:
Pastor Hellemo reported the following:
This month I visited with Leonard Gunpat and Aileen Stephenson. I have made phone calls to reach
out to our members. I have also participated in church activities other than Sunday worship
service. I enjoyed attending an Ethiopian conference in Pennsylvania while on my vacation. I met
with Linda and Kris Brower and had lunch last Sunday. I was brought to my attention by members
and the national officer regarding the practice of lay people administering Holy Communion.
Moving forward, if I am absence and a lay leader is leading services, we will not have communion in
accordance with the NALC rules regarding this matter.
Pastor spoke with Art and he said if NALC does not want him administering the sacraments, then he
will step aside and follow guidelines put in place by the NALC. This does not effect administering
the sacraments to shut-ins.
Quarterly Goals-July to September:
Church Newsletter-Marc Funderburk is working on this and would like help.
Issues and Opportunities:
Update on Cleaning Services:
We are in the process of redefining what ASLC will need to do considering the thorough cleaning
provided by SDA. We will reevaluate as needed through the end of the year.
Since they are dry mopping the floors, Mary feels we need to wet mop the floors twice a month.
This includes all tile and wood flooring. We need to add that to our to do list. Bathrooms will need
to be done with the scouts using the facilities during the school year. Marc will talk with his cleaner
and set up a schedule.
Cleaning Tasks Being Covered by SDA each Saturday:
– dry mop the pulpit
– vacuum-sweep the sanctuary
– sweep/vacuum classrooms they use
– dry mop the Atrium
– wipe Atrium tables and chairs
– wipe down toilet seats and urinals and clean toilets
– sweep restroom floors and mop when needed
– clean restroom mirrors, sink and counters
– take out trash
– wipe glass windows in the cry room
– clean glass on French doors
– clean glass on main doors
– Sani-wipe round tables after use
– vacuum fellowship hall floor and clean spots as needed
– wipe down kitchen countertops
Update/Communication/Website, Etc.
Sue has set up the member login on the website. She is working on a member directory to be
accessed by members via their personal login. It will also have a pay pal link, an area for current
events, a place for the weekly Focus on the Word, and a place for Congregational Meeting Minutes,
Council meeting minutes and Worship Bulletins. She is working on making the website user
friendly. Send any suggestions you might think necessary to Sue.
Sue has created a Spotify account with a shared play list to aid the congregation in learning the
contemporary music used in the service. Art is helping her create the play list. It currently can be
found at the bottom of the home page. She will also ask Lois to add it to the Facebook page.
Contemporary Service-Pastor and Art
Our Contemporary service will be held September 21,2024 and the Praise Team will provide music.
CCLI license renews September 30, 2024. This year it is $625.00. Bev will get with Steve regarding
this issue. It was not in our budget this year but we need to have the CCLI for the Contemporary
service. Marc asked it be added to the budget for next year. Marc asked Bev to pay for it and then
ask for funding afterwards.
Media Shout?
August Town Hall:
A. Financial Review:
Review Finance Report
Pledge Cards (due at August town hall meeting) and Budget Preparation (in September)
B. Nomination Committee:
They met on August 5th
. Listed below is the possible slate for the ballot in November. We
are waiting on several people to respond to inquiries to serve.
2025 Council Slate
President-John Barnes
President Elect-Sue Brant
Treasurer
Treasurer Elect-Marc Funderburk
Secretary-Dana Collins
Secretary Elect
Board of Ministries-Julia Bessler
Board of Trustees-Richard Giltner
Does the Council have any other names they would like to forward to the Nomination
Committee?
We discussed with members at the town hall the rule in the Constitution that married
couples cannot serve on the Council at the same time. Marilyn proposed an amendment
allowing married couples to serve simultaneously since our congregation is very small and
we would like to be able to have a larger pool of volunteers to offer positions to. Those
present felt it was worth exploring and Council should explore the possibility of the
amendment and have ready for a vote in November at the Congregational meeting.
Marc to draft the amendment and email to council.
C. Audit Committee:
No action this month. Marc to reach out to DJ and find out how things are progressing.
D. Benevolence Committee:
Kim Mory has volunteered to serve, and Lois Stephenson will step down. The Congregation
was asked to send suggestions regarding organizations to Lynn G.
Church Directory Update:
Directory will be mailed from the company directly to member households.
Sign Messaging:
Marc spoke with Fast Signs, and they are updating their last proposal and providing a proposal for
digital messaging for future reference per Marc’s conversations with Patric Winn
Tent Revival-Neighborhood outreach
Marc, suggest we create an event which all congregations can participate in and invite the
neighborhoods this fall. This was an idea to advertise ASLC and the other congregations to
showcase us to the neighborhood. Mary suggested using this next year and possibly in the Spring.
SDA-Organ Donation
Per Steve, an electric organ will fit on the stage but it may take up unwanted space. It may come
down to where it is to be placed and the size of the organ as to if Council accepts the donation. Bev
will send the picture to Council for review. It is approximately the size of the drum set we use to
have on stage(51L x 50H x 27D). Marc suggests we ask if this organ will enhance our worship service
or be a deterrent and see if we can make it work or not. They would like an answer quickly but
Council may want some time to decide. Steve and Joe will need to be consulted before a decision
can be made. Steve will create a mockup out of cardboard and place on the stage. Praise team will
see how the placement works with out setup and then council will decide.
Liability Certificates:
SDA and ALC have submitted their liability insurance certificates to the property board. Santisma is
still looking for liability insurance per Julio. We are in the process of getting our policy renewed. We
need to explore what our insurance cover regarding the outside usage of our facility. Bev to reach
out to our insurance agent to have them come and tell council what our coverage covers.
Council To Do’s
Schedule September Town hall for September 15, 2024.
Budget Preparation-Council and finance to meet on September 12th at 7 pm to go over the budget to
be presented. Town hall agenda to be set that night. Budget to be approved for publishing at the
normal September Council meeting the 3rd Thursday.
Convocation: We usually report on the convocation at the congregational meeting. Kris Brower
was the only person in attendance. He sent a report. Bev suggested Kris report at the
congregational meeting. Marc agreed.
Nominating committee for 2025: We need to try and have a few names prior to the congregational
meeting. Marilyn to be asked if she has any suggestions for the committee for 2025.
Prayer Concerns:
Carl’s future employment, Ti Ti’s immigration status and Pastor’s health. Marc’s daughter’s
upcoming melanoma surgery and their friend’s medical procedure. Joe has returned to work
effective yesterday. Prayer led by Pastor.
Meeting ended at 8:22 pm.
Next meeting scheduled for September 19, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Adix room.